


Back to the shadows

by gh0st1nn1t



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders as Paranoia, Dark Side Virgil, He gets a redemption arc later I promise, Hurt Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Literally all the light sides suck, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Deceit | Janus Sanders, Sorry Not Sorry, Sympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), The Dark Sides are actually good in this, The Light Sides suck though, Unsympathetic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Unsympathetic Logic | Logan Sanders, Unsympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, Unsympathetic Sides (Sanders Sides), Virgil kind of sucks at the start, Why Did I Write This?, angsty, im sorry, no im not, very angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25017391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0st1nn1t/pseuds/gh0st1nn1t
Summary: Virgil was terrified.Then again, that was normal for him. But he had spilt the secret that he had sworn to himself to never spill. He had revealed the one thing he didn’t want to.And the Light Sides all abandoned him.So he ran.He ran home.[ON HOLD]
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 31
Kudos: 217





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> The Light Sides are all absolute pricks in this, sorry lmao
> 
> CONTENT WARNINGS :  
> -This whole chapter is incredibly angsty  
> -it focuses on a massive (verbal and slightly physical) fight.  
> -Insults, Arguments, Fights, etc

**_Virgil was terrified._ **

_Then again, that was normal for him. It was no longer surprising when his breath would hitch and his throat would close and his hands would tremble. He had spilt the secret that he had sworn to himself to never spill. He had revealed the one thing he didn’t want to._

_What was surprising, however, was the uncaring reaction from the other sides._

_Instead of kneeling beside him and hugging him tightly, Patton stood across the room, staring down at the floor with an expression holding such betrayal, Virgil wished he couldn’t feel anything._

_Instead of joking around and trying to cheer him up, Roman was glaring at him with pure fury and fire evident on his face, hands balled into fists so tight at his sides Virgil thought he would draw blood._

_Instead of stating random facts and distracting him, Logan was staring at him completely blank, unreadable. Virgil couldn’t detect anything other than pure shock and betrayal that was written all over his face._

_He gulped and sunk down into his room, absolutely terrified._

_**\- - - - - -** _

It had only been weeks, but nothing had changed. Every time Virgil entered a room, Patton would go mute and look away, Logan would avoid his eyes and pretend he wasn’t there, and Roman would insult him non-stop. It wasn’t the joking way they used to argue, it was genuine, fiery taunts that were thrown around between them. Virgil couldn't deny that it hurt. As much as he pretended to be uncaring, seeing all of his friends turn on him for who he used to be stung. It stung a lot. More than he'd ever let on.

Somehow, wherever he went in the Mindpalace, it seemed he was doing something wrong. Whatever he did, a fight would break out and he would end up sulking around for the rest of the day. It was usually started by Roman, and Virgil would retaliate, and eventually the two would be fully fighting, and the others would just sit back and watch it happen. They acted different than they did in videos, they played it up for dramatic effects. So seeing the others genuinely insulting him instead of just acting had hurt.

This was the exact reason Virgil was terrified of revealing his past. He knew it would happen, but he didn't want it to be true. He hadn't even told them who he used to be, just what he used to be. And if they reacted that way to him being a Dark Side, then how would they react to him being Paranoia. He didn't want to know.

Virgil entered the kitchen, hands stuffed in his pockets as he walked past the kitchen table, where the Light Sides were sat, eating their breakfast. 

“And what do you think you’re doing here, Anxiety?” Roman spat, stabbing his fork into his pancakes, making the strawberry sauce drip down the sides, eerily resembling blood. Virgil gulped, rolling his eyes as he continued walking to the fridge.

“This is a shared kitchen, Miss Trunchbull,” Virgil shot back, not even hesitating. He opened the fridge, rummaging around as he spoke. Being raised with the Dark Sides had given him a reflex to automatically insult anyone who was remotely offensive towards him. 

“Shared kitchen? Yes. Shared kitchen for the Light Sides only. Why don’t you go and sit with snake-face and my demented brother instead?”

“For the last time, I’m not a Dark Side anymore!” 

“Sure, because Anxiety is totally a positive trait that belongs with us real Light Sides,” Roman drawled, words jabbing into Virgil’s chest as they left his mouth. They set off a fire inside of him, and Virgil was suddenly done letting himself be walked all over.

He slammed the fridge shut, leaning against it with crossed arms and a raging scowl, “Get your head out of your ass, you stuck up douchebag ! When we were all made, no one got to choose their role. We were made this way! I didn’t choose to be stuck with the Dark Sides! Hell, I wasn’t even Anxiety when I was with them! That’s how much I’ve changed!”

Roman laughed loudly, the bitter sound echoing in the room, “Poor little Anxiety. Trying to defend himself and doing the exact opposite. You've just proved how much of the bad guy you are. Even when trying to fit in with us good guys, you can’t do anything right. You’re still a negative trait. You’re still the villain ."

“ I’m the bad guy? I’m not the one rejecting a side for something they had no control over . But whatever. That’s fine. I’m used to it anyway. Your brother used to say the same thing,” Virgil smirked at the flabbergasted look on Roman’s face as he stumbled over his words.

Roman scoffed, “You’re so overdramatic, Anxiety. Always wanting pity. Spoiler alert! The villains don’t deserve pity. Why don’t you just leave? Like, permanently? Leave forever?”

“Are you two going to say anything or are you just going to let him talk to me like that?” Virgil snapped, turning to Patton and Logan, who were both staring down at the table in silence. Roman played up his ego when they were making videos, but the camera wasn't on and he was still acting so big headed. And they were just sitting back watching.

For the first time in weeks, Logan actually addressed him, “He does have a point, Anxiety. How do you expect to have our trust when you have been working with those who are against us?” 

“Keyword: were !” Virgil threw up his hands in exaggeration, “I used to! Not anymore! The Dark Sides aren’t even inherently evil. They weren’t when I was living with them for 26 years! Sure, they may be absolute bastards now, but they weren’t before! Not when I was a Dark Side!”

“So what you’re saying is that you caused the mood swing that made them act evil? You’re saying that this is all your fault?” Logan snapped, glowering towards Virgil, who, despite his angry manner, had to fight back a gasp. He had never thought of it that way. He had never realised that he had caused their evil mannerisms.

“He...does have a point, Anxiety,” Patton spoke up, quiet as he met Virgil’s eyes which were full of furious tears. He knew Patton felt no remorse. For someone who acted so innocent, he was incredibly cold-hearted. “You have to understand why we can’t trust you. Dark Sides are evil. They are bad for Thomas. And you are one of them.”

“Patton has a point too,” Roman grabbed the attention once again, not wanting to be excluded from a fight he started, “For someone who insists he isn’t working with the Dark Sides, you sure do keep excusing them and trying to pretend they’re the heroes.”

“ _But they aren’t the villains either! Do you know why I left? Because we wanted to help Thomas! We wanted him to accept that we were there, so we weren’t shoved back into the shadows! We wanted to help him! They may be villains now, but they weren't when I was with them_!” Virgil was completely shouting, and he knew it would give Thomas a bad migraine later, but he honestly couldn't care less. He didn't actually hate the Dark Sides, they played it up for the videos. He still disliked them a lot, but he didn't completely despise them like he pretended to on camera. The Light Sides, however, held the same hatred for the others both on and off-camera. 

“We?” Patton repeated, emphasising the words Virgil kept using.

“Of course! You always did love to grab the spotlight to get pity, with your whole ‘pretending to duck out so you could get charity from the rest of us’ thing. The villains don’t deserve sympathy!” Roman yelled back, face flushed from exhaustion due to all of the fighting. 

“You know what?” Virgil threw his hands up. He looked absolutely terrifying, “I’m done. I am done with all of this bullshit ! You!” Virgil turned towards Patton, who was staring, mouth agape, “ _You are the worst excuse of a father there is! You think anyone who doesn’t agree with your moral compass is instantly the villain! You pretend to be all innocent with your cookies and your puns but you're just a manipulative little bitch!”_

Virgil turned to Logan, laughing sourly, “ _You? You stand by and watch it happen. You don't even bother to stay neutral, you just side with them because of who I used to be! You aren’t a remotely good teacher, because real teachers don’t let exclusion slide! Then again, robots have never been too good at teaching, have they, **Logic**_ ?” Virgil spat out the words like venom, watching as Logan recoiled.

“And you,” Virgil stared into Roman’s face, who didn’t even have the decency to feign remorse, “ _You are the most fucked-up prince there is! You act like you’re some saviour, but in reality, you’re just a weak little liar whose ego is bigger than the fucking Chrysler building! You are the most twisted ‘hero’ there is, and I lived with your brother for over 26 years! I thought your insane ego was just some act for the camera, but turns out you are actually as big-headed as you pretend to be. You stuck-up dickhead!”_

Virgil was breathing heavily, tears of anger welling up in his eyes. He spun around, prepared to storm out, but he only reached the doorway before someone spoke up.

“Just get out of here, Anxiety, you won’t be missed,” Roman called after him. Virgil whirled around, stomping towards him.

“You know what? I’m so glad you don’t have a moustache. If you did, then I don’t think I would be able to tell who the evil twin was! There never has been much of a difference between you and your brother anyway!”

The whole room was stunned into silence.

“Now, now Anxiety, play nice,” Patton scolded. 

Virgil began almost screaming his words, the demonic echo of his voice filling the room. “ _ **Play nice? Play fucking nice? You two have sat back and let this twisted douchebag insult me for weeks, but when I retaliate, I’m the one not playing nice? If what Princey has been doing is ‘playing nice’, then I don’t want to know what your idea of ‘playing bad’ is.”**_

“Anxiety, I think it would be best if you left. You do not have to drop out, as Thomas is unable to function without all of us present, but it would be preferable if we didn't meet again,” Logan stated, face twisted into an angry expression.

 _“Oh, of course, you always did side with him, didn’t you, **Logic** ?”_ Virgil yelled.

“Shut up, Anxiety! This is why no one has ever liked you!”

Virgil was shocked, and, judging by the silence of the room, so was everyone else. He stared at Roman with an infuriated expression as his eyes turned fully-purple, glowing in the dim lighting of the kitchen. “What did you just say?”

Roman, being the idiot he was, repeated it without an ounce of fear, emphasising every word, “ This. Is. Why. No. One. Has. Ever. Liked. You. ”

Virgil, not remembering that they didn’t know about who he used to be, raised a hand, clenching it into a fist and twisting it, closely resembling Deceits hand gesture when he silenced them. Roman began clutching at his throat as his lungs ceased to work. He was over a meter away, yet Virgil simply making a fist had begun suffocating him. “ _ **You want to repeat that?”**_

The echo of his voice made Logan cover his ears. It had become incredibly loud and rumbling, shaking the room and sending their cups smashing to the floor.

He ignored the yells of the others as he continued to clench his hand. Roman shook his head desperately, beginning to feel incredibly faint, and Virgil dropped his hand, allowing the other to heave and gasp to regain his breath. He knew Patton and Logan thought he was going to kill Roman, but Virgil was unable to kill anyone.

Well, not unable, per se, he was totally capable of it, but rather he chose not to.

The only sounds in the room were the buzzing of the light bulbs before they completely shattered and Roman struggling to regain his breath. Virgil stared down at him, eyes still purple, before walking out of the room with his head held high, leaving three shaken sides in his wake.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil knew exactly where he was going, and, as much as he hated to admit it, he was excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNINGS :  
> -A major fight (Physical)  
> -Weapons (Swords, Daggers, etc)  
> -Blood (It's slightly graphic)  
> -Virgil uses his powers to give everyone a brief panic attack. (its not detailed, its only one line and thats it)  
> -Injuries (Only a cut during the fight, but its deep and bleeds a lot)  
> -Attempted (Failed) Murder i guess???

_Virgil knew what he had to do._

_He had suspected it for a while, but he had pushed back those thoughts and pretended they didn't exist._

_But now? Now he had no choice._

_If anyone had asked, he would have denied it, but he was thrilled to go home._

_**\- - - - - -** _

His footsteps echoed through the well-lit hallway. As usual, he was shoved to the side, and, ironically, so was his room. The purple door was at the very end of the hallway on the left, decorated with spiderwebs painted in black and white, along with stickers plastered to the doorframe. There were 4 doors in the hallway, each leading to the main 4 Light Sides rooms. The Light Side of the Mindscape was a replica of Thomas's house, except made bigger and with extra rooms. If they tried, they could alter it, but that was the regular, unmodified version of it.

Kicking the door open, he stepped inside, seeing the hoodie laid out on his bed first. As always, his room knew what he was feeling and changed to suit him. When he was stressed, his room would grow bigger to make him feel less claustrophobic. When he missed The Dark Sides, the pictures on his walls would turn into ones of him and The Light Sides, forcing the sadness out of his mind, so it was no surprise to see his old hoodie draped over his blankets, the dark grey and black fabric contrasting his grape-colored sheets.

Virgil slammed the door behind him, running a hand through his black hair.

In The Mindscape, they could alter little things about their appearance; They would still resemble Thomas, but their hair, bodies, height, and tiny facial features could be changed. Whenever he went into The Mindscape, Virgil's hair went pitch black, he would grow taller and his skin turned paler. It wasn't intentional, it just sort of happened, like it was natural.

He clicked his fingers, and in an instant, his clothes were replaced. Instead of his crinkled purple t-shirt was a torn black t-shirt with a grey skull printed on the front, purple marker scribbled on the skull's eyes. His violet-patch hoodie was replaced by his old black hoodie with a purple crosshatching pattern covering the sleeves, the pockets, and the hood. His loose stormy grey jeans were replaced by dark purple torn denim that hugged his legs tightly. His battered purple sneakers were replaced by big, chunky, gothic black boots, decorated with large spikes and spiderweb patterns and little bats and about 5 inches of heels.

He was in his old outfit.

_Paranoia's old outfit._

Smirking, Virgil looked in the mirror and almost cried from happiness. He looked the same as he had when living with the Dark Sides. He clicked his fingers again, instantly rolling sleeves to his elbows. He pulled open one of his drawers, rummaging around for a moment before pulling out his finger-less, elbow-length, spiderweb-patterned fishnet gloves. Sliding them onto his arms, he couldn't help but grin. He ran his hands through his hair, watching in the mirror as it began turning the tips a pale grey-ish, white-ish color. Parting his hair to the far-left side, he pushed his hair in front of his right eye, almost covering half of his whole face. The dark eyeshadow under his eyes stretched and stretched until there was a thick black line of eyeshadow leading down to his jaw from each eye. 

He exited his room, storming down the hallway. It was a long hallway, twisting around and around, the walls gradually turning from white to black as he got closer to the end. 

Moments after left his room, he heard a booming voice, "Who are you and what are you doing here, foul fiend!" 

Virgil whirled around, immediately faced with Roman, sword drawn and pointed at Virgil's face, the tip lifting Virgil's chin as he spun around. He fake-pouted and tilted his head to the side, feigning sadness. "I'm hurt, Princey," he placed a hand on his chest, and the other against his forehead, pretending to faint.

"Do I know you?" Roman demanded, poking the sword into Virgil's skin, barely enough to draw blood. Virgil couldn't help it; He cackled loudly.

Virgil squeezed his eyes shut, and once he opened them, 6 others popped up around his face. They closely resembled spider's eyes, having 8, vibrant purple eyes shining on his face. His fringe blocked 4 of them, but the other 4 glowed in the dim light of the hallway. "Now, is that any way to treat an old friend?" He grinned, snapping his fingers, making the sword fly out of Roman's hand and stab into the wall. 

Roman stayed silent for a moment before Virgil reached into his shirt and pulled out his necklace with his storm-cloud sign on it. "Virgil?" He asked hesitantly, hand reaching into his holster to draw a dagger.

"Ding ding ding!" Virgil clapped sarcastically, hands falling as his expression changed into one matching a sneer. " _Extra ten points for using my fucking name for once_ ," he spat out, eyes following Roman's hand as he drew his blade. "Is the little Prince feeling intimidated? Is he **_scared_ **?"

On the last word, Virgil's voice became painfully loud, the demonic echo returning as a rush of anxiety ran through Roman as Virgil used his power to cut the lights momentarily for dramatic effect. Roman's face faltered, unsure if he should cover his ears or continue holding his dagger. Just as he began to talk, two pairs of footsteps came running around the corner.

"Roman, kiddo! What's...happening?" Patton began asking, staring at Roman before he finally noticed Virgil. He clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling his scream.

Virgil grinned, tilting his head innocently. "Logic, Morality! How kind of you to join us!" 

"Who are you?" Logan demanded, standing his ground as he straightened his back, staring Virgil down. 

"Don't you recognize me? Your little old friend?" Virgil mocked innocence before he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he realized they were still clueless. He did the same thing he did with Roman, holding out his necklace to show his symbol.

"Anxiety? What are you doing?" Patton asked, face hardening angrily.

"It's clear I'm not wanted here, so I thought to myself, 'Hey! Why not go home where people actually like you?'. I thought it over, and it seemed like a good idea, so off I go!" Virgil glowered at the three in front of him.

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that," Roman spoke slowly, raising his dagger as he stepped forward. As the light glinted onto it, Virgil could see the engraving on the handle, barely visible. **_'Forged with metal from THE PIT'._ **

"And _what do you think you're_ going to do?" Virgil's angry presence faltered as the words sunk in. He knew he was unwanted, but using a dagger that was actually able to kill him? Attacking him with a weapon made from the _only_ thing that could kill him? Actually murdering a fellow side? He gulped, feigning confidence.

"What do you think?" Roman dived forwards, tackling him to the ground as Virgil struggled to get free. The back of his head slammed against the floor, making him dizzy as he was held down. He held his forearm to Virgil's neck, the blade cutting deeply into Virgil's torso during the action. 

The pain was almost unbearable, and Virgil screamed. The sound was piercing, and it echoed throughout the entire Mindscape. It was a deep noise, his demonic tone turning the scream into one straight out of a horror movie. Then again, being stabbed with the only thing able to hurt and kill you would be a good reason to scream. 

“We can’t have you corrupting Thomas,” Roman insisted, dagger held just above Virgil’s heart.

“Roman-“ Virgil was not one to beg, he never was, never would be. He would never beg, but having the cold metal hovering above him had struck a nerve, and he had sent the most apologetic look towards Roman. “Please- I’ll leave, I swear, let me go!” He screamed, trying to struggle away.

”We can’t have you corrupting Thomas,” he repeated, raising the blade to give one final stab.

He hadn't meant to, but Virgil had sent out a strong wave of his power. Logan went falling, hyperventilating, clawing at his throat to breathe properly as he slipped into a sitting position. Patton began stumbling backward, hands pressed over his ears as tears streamed down his cheeks. Roman fell off of him, fists pounding against his head as he began muttering under his breath. The dagger fell down, clattering beside Virgil’s neck, inches away from his skin.

Virgil placed a hand over the cut, pulling it away to reveal it soaked in his blood. He pushed himself into a sitting position before stumbling to his feet, hand still cupped around his wound. He gave them an apologetic look as he snapped his fingers, bringing them out of their trance. All three of them looked up at him, their faces painted with terrified expressions. He began running away, heaving somewhat and tripping over his feet every few seconds.

It had taken ages, and it was astonishingly sore, but Virgil soon reached the end of the hallway, relief overwhelmed him as he cracked open the door, looking around the Dark Sides half of the Mindscape.

He was home.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil was stuck. Either he joined the people who he abandoned and hurt, or he turned back and lived with the people who tried to murder him.
> 
> Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all so sweet!! Your comments are so encouraging and, im not joking, when i read them i cried :))))  
> Thank you so much for all of your support!! I'm sorry this is a short chapter, but the plot properly starts after this, so they'll all be longer after this, I promise!!!
> 
> CONTENT WARNINGS :  
> \- Mentions of Virgil's injuries  
> \- The word 'Murder' is used, along with 'Torture' (no descriptions, they just get briefly discussed)  
> \- Remus mentions more intrusive stuff (turning off life support, demonic animals, snakes having two dicks, the usual)  
> \- Idk medical terms, so??? Healing an injury i guess???

_The moment the door opened, Virgil's mind began swarming madly, and he knew he was absolutely fucked._

_He had two choices: join the ones he hurt by abandoning them and villainizing them, or return to the people who had tried to murder him._

_He had no idea what to do._

_He was absolutely fucked._

\- - - - - -

Virgil's boots clicked against the hardwood floor as he staggered down the hallway. He could feel the blood seeping through his shirt, and it stuck to his palm as he tried to stem the blood flow. He cursed under his breath as struggled to walk, ending up leaning against a wall to catch his breath a few moments in. It was to be expected, though, as his side was still leaving a bloody trail, and his chin stung from the small cut from Roman's sword. He slowed down his thoughts, pressing his back against the wall as he coughed and regained his breath.

With his spare time, Virgil decided to view the hall, wanting to see if anything had changed since he left 6 years prior. It seemed to be the same, the same ashy black walls, the same empty cobwebs lining the ceiling, the same cracks on the wall borders, the same pictures hung along the walls, the marker scribbles from when they were kids, etc.

The air still smelt faintly of his blood, but underneath it, he recognized the familiar scent of cinnamon and peppermint, Janus. In the Mindscape, they smelt like their favourite scents, so Janus carried around the smell of cinnamon and peppermint, while Remus bounced around smelling of hot sauce and bubblegum. Virgil inhaled deeply, the familiar scents making him calm down.

As he began walking, well, more _stumbling_ , he saw an old picture of the three of them as kids.

Remus was holding Virgil by his ankle, shaking him up and down as he giggled. They looked to be around six, and their grins showcased two missing teeth for Virgil and a tooth-gap for Remus. Deceit's face was close to the camera, an exasperated but amused expression evident on his half-scaled face. Virgil smiled at the picture, giving him more determination than ever before.

His walking sped up, the jingling of the chains on his jeans and boots filling the silent hall. Virgil's side ached horribly, and he was unsure if the wound was bad enough to kill him (he doubted it), but he would not give up. He had already given up too many times. He'd given up on the Dark Sides and left them, _then_ he'd gone to the Light Sides and then given up on _them too._ Virgil would be damned if he gave up any more.

It was a painful ten minutes before he reached the closest door. To be fair, it would've been a four-minute walk, but he had to keep stopping to try and breathe. 

Once he reached the door, he raised his fist to knock, rapping it once, twice, three times against the green wooden door. Gory stickers were plastered around the frame, along with mini horror movie posters. The handle was shaped like an octopus tentacle, and the knocker on the door was a tiny golden kracken with a hoop attached to it, meant to be the knocker. A 'DANGER' sign was hung above the door, the luminous shining bright against the black walls. Halloween decorations were stuck around the door, including two fake bloody red handprints, a candelabra was attached to the wall, the candles being two skulls, and a pumpkin in the middle.

Virgil had fully spaced out due to blood loss and hadn't noticed the door swing open, focusing on the decor.

Remus stood in the doorway, expecting it to be Janus asking another favour, but instead, he was faced with Virgil in his old clothes. Remus, too, was affected by the Mindscapes default settings, and his appearance varied from a Thomas-clone. He was the same height and weight, but more tanned with sharper features and slightly bug-like eyes. His hair was longer than Thomas's, shaved at the sides and back, but swept to one side and falling in his face. The white dye on the ends had turned it slightly grey, standing out against his dark hair

"Fake spiderman? Why are you back?" Remus narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "And why are you here? Thought I 'unnerved you' or some other bullshit," He hadn't noticed how much blood was soaked through Virgil's jacket, or how spacey he was until he waved his hand in front of Virgil's eyes. "Helloooo?" Remus grinned manically, "Are you daydreaming about torture? Need my help with a murder plan?"

That had snapped Virgil out of it, and he met Remus' eyes, and Remus suddenly noticed how sickly he looked. "Woah, you look like someone unplugged your life support, did you get attacked by a demon animal? Did you go into The Imagination and pick a fight with one of those gremlin demon things? Did you get attacked by them?" 

"No, got attacked by your brother, actually," Virgil wheezed out, finally speaking as he lifted the side of his hoodie along with his shirt, showing the large bloody gash leading from just above his hip-bone to his ribs. He let the fabric fall back down as Remus placed a hand on his back, leading him inside. He liked to pretend he was all gorey and demented, but that was _mostly_ show. Sure, he was insane nearly all of the time, but he knew when to calm down and help.

"I'm still pissed at you, and I am _trying_ not to whack you over the head with the Morningstar," Remus gestured to the weapon, "but I swear I will murder him if you ask," Remus allowed Virgil to sit on his bed, before going back to the open door and yelling, "Helloooo double-dick! Get your scaly ass in here! Need your help!"

A sigh echoed down the hallway, and Virgil noted that it was Janus. Loud footsteps approached the room, as he began speaking, "Remus, you fucking vulture, I've told you, I do not have two dicks, I'm not an actual snake, and my ass is not scal-" Janus' voice broke off as he reached the door, spotting the injured man sat on Remus' bed, his voice suddenly dropped the loud, amused tone and turned soft "Virgil?"

"Sup guys," Virgil gave a weak smile as he half-saluted, his arm trembling violently as he struggled to raise it. 

_Then he passed out._


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once Virgil had awoken (and figured out where he was) he knew there was a lot to talk about.
> 
> I mean, turning up onto someone's doorstep 4 years after you'd abandoned them while bleeding out due to their brother wasn't something you could just pretend didn't exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh this took so long to write I'm so sorry  
> I have a shit ton of drafts so once I've finished this story (not for a while) there will be a bunch of other ones going up right after. 
> 
> CONTENT WARNINGS  
> -minor injury description (mostly just recovering from the injury now)  
> -Remus being disgusting (mentions: worms for intestines, icky descriptions of graphic injuries [the phrases 'gooey organs' and 'juicy stab wound' used], blood, weapons, electrocuting Roman is also a [valid] plan for a while, etc)  
> -Virgil scratches his neck to distract himself briefly ((NOT intentionally self-destructive, more just a nervous tick))

When Virgil awoke, it had taken him a few moments to gather his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was stumbling into Remus' room and then passing out almost immediately after. 

Not always reassuring when the last thing you remember is you collapsing.

Attempting not to pass back out, he rubbed his eyes, trying to deduce where he was. The smooth grey sheets surrounding him comforted him, reassuring him that they hadn't just dumped him back with the Light Sides, which had been a _very real_ worry for a few milliseconds. Purple pillows along with an array of old raggedy monster plushies had been the pieces that had clicked together along with something in his brain.

Virgil knew where he was.

Home.

He was in his old room.

The soft grape coloured fairy-lights that gleamed down onto his face along with the scent of dust had caused a small smile to slip onto Virgil's face as he struggled his way into sitting against the headboard of the bed. He noticed his hoodie had been removed. Goosebump ran along his arms as he suddenly felt astonishingly chilly in only his t-shirt and jeans. With his bare arms, he was able to see the thin, dwindling spider web patterns that were engraved into his skin, along his entire body. It was just one of Paranoia's traits.

A small pressure covering his torso had gotten him to lift his shirt halfway to examine the cause.

Bandages were wrapped carefully around the entire wound, held in place by some vibrant green ducktape that Virgil assumed Remus just carried around with him. A thin (itchy) bandaid was on his chin, covering the scratch caused by the blade of Roman's sword. Virgil's bony hands clenched his sheets as a flair of panic shot through his body and twisted his gut at the mere memory of the weapon.

A cough dragged him from his thoughts.

Virgil looked up.

Remus was sat on a dining room chair, except...not. His legs were draped over the back of the seat and his head hung just below the area meant for sitting on. Basically, he was sat in a chair upside-down. In his hands was an incredibly graphic comic book.

"Well, good to see you're alive," Remus practically sprung from the chair and threw himself onto the bed, taking a seat on the footboard. "So, your stab wound wasn't too bad. Very gory and very bloody- just my style! But not bad enough to see your intestines. Which, by the way, I believe are worms and I'm slightly pissed that I didn't get to test my theory by seeing your gooey organs but I'm...happy you're not dead?" Remus carefully picked the last few words after seeing the confused look on Virgil's face due to his graphic rant.

"Thank...you?" 

Remus had his chin perched on top of his folded hands, clearly intrigued. "So! Why'd you pick a fight with little 'ol Princey?"

"Aaand that was the specific question I told you you should _definitely_ ask!"

Virgil's head snapped towards the doorway only to see Janus stood there, leaning against the frame with an exasperated look on his face. Virgil noted that he looked slightly tired (along with Remus), judging by the eyebags, messed up hair and slow movements. His hoodie was draped over Janus' arm, only the blood had been cleaned out.

"You just had to get yourself stabbed didn't you?" Janus gave Virgil a joking smirk as he threw the hoodie towards him. "Here, 's been washed. I thought you'd _definitely_ want to walk around covered in blood. You have like ten stitches. Remus did them, so if they get all fucked, blame him. Also," Deceit snapped his fingers in realisation, "those bandages need to be changed every few days."

Virgil was silent for a moment, trying to restrain a smile (and...possibly tears) before finally speaking up in a small voice. "Thank you."

"Shut up," Janus crossed his arms, still leaning against the door frame. He seemed to be contemplating something for a moment before he joined Remus on sitting on the footboard of Virgil's bed. He crossed one leg over the other, placed his chin in his palm."So... how did you get yourself stabbed?"

"Really?" Virgil gave the two other sides an exasperated grin.

"You show up on our doorstep 6 years after you left covered in blood with a juicy stab wound and expect us not to ask questions? Nuh-uh. We have an entire page of questions?" Remus snapped his hand and a notepad appeared. He began reading the first page aloud, aloud, "50 ways to murder my brother and make it look like an accident. Number one, electrocution. Make it look like he stuck a fork in a toaster. He seems like he'd do that-"

"Remus, wrong page," Janus took the notepad from him and flicked over a few pages.

"No, no, I want to hear his plan," Virgil gave Remus a mischievous grin. He watched as Remus snatched the notepad back and returned to the front.

"So what we do is wait for him to be near a socket, and once he goes near... boom! We dump water on it and push him towards it. Once he's electrocuted, we drag him to the kitchen, place a fork in his hand, and knock the toaster over next to him. Flawless plan," Remus tore off the front page and showed it to Virgil, revealing an incredibly gruesome doodle of Remus electrocuting Roman.

"No! No murder. Even if its a very valid murder," Janus shot Remus a glare and tugged the notepad away, flicking past all of the murder plans and to the questions. "We still want answers."

Remus seemed to come to his senses and stopped being blinded by his fun murder plans. "Yeah, im still pissed at you!" He balled the torn page and threw it towards Virgil, landing on the floor.

"Fair enough," Virgil nodded, shifting against the headboard.

The interview began.

How fun.

"Why'd Roman stab you?" Janus asked bluntly. Virgil would've choked if he had been drinking at the time.

"Okay, asking the big questions right away. Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. Okay, um, so, uh, you know I sort of told them how I used to be one of you guys?" Virgil chose not to take in their startled reactions and blocked out the beginnings of their questions by continuing, "Well, the 'Light Sides' didn't take it too well. Kept telling me I didn't belong. Well, Roman kept telling me. The others sort of just watched. Then there was a fight in the kitchen this morning and...I might have used my powers to choke him for a bit. Then I just left."

"And when did you get stabbed? Get to the _juicy stuff_ already!" Remus emphasised his words by doing a weird shoulder-shimmy-dance combination.

"Okay, uh, well, I put on my old outfit and started walking back here when Roman jumped out from the shadows and pointed his stupid sword at me. Gave me this," Virgil gestured to the scratch on his chin. "Didn't recognise me, so I told him who I am and he sort of freaked out and all the others came running in. Asked where I was going. Told them here. Roman just tackled me and kept repeating that I was 'corrupting Thomas' and needed to be removed. So...he stabbed me with a knife made from metal from The Pit."

"And how'd you get away? Seems he was pretty focused on killing you."

"I, uh, maybe, sort of, used my powers?" Virgil stated it like it was more of a question, and his scratching at the back of his neck had become increasingly painful and frantic the more panicked he got. "Gave 'em all panic attacks then dipped."

Both the sides had gone incredibly silent during Virgil’s dramatic monologue. Out of respect, pity or boredom, he did not know.

“Okay, well, you answered most of the questions there, but there’s still some left.”

Remus interrupted him, sounding worryingly serious for him. “I have one. Why’d you come here? I get that you hate them, but you hate us too, so why here? Am I not ‘unnerving’ you anymore? Is he not ‘ruining your day’? You could’ve gone anywhere else. _Why here?”_

Virgil had begun picking at his nails as he thought over his answer. “Before...Before I...Before I _left_ ,” he spat out the word, afraid hed keep dodging the subject if he didn’t, “I felt safe here. I just...thought of where I felt safest.”

The confession had stunned everyone into silence.

The following days had dragged on slowly. Virgil was on bedrest (“Doctors orders!” Janus had stated, before promptly being told he was definitely not a doctor and incredibly stupid) and the two had taken turns watching over Virgil and helping with the bandages.

Tension had practically followed Virgil around, and he knew he owed an apology to Janus and Remus, but every time he would begin, he would back out cowardly. 

Then a plan arose in his head, and he knew what he had to do.


End file.
